Retirement Living and Personal Finance

Have your plans for retirement living changed because of the financial crisis?

In 2001, when I managed a high-end retirement and assisted living community, a resident couple in their early 70’s visited my office heartbroken. The high tech stock bubble had burst, and the investments they once thought would sustain them for the next 20 years was no longer going to last. This was a conservative couple who had planned everything before selling their home and moving in. Unfortunately, their son was a financial adviser and had overexposed in the market.

Given the financial mess the country is in today, my guess is that many seniors are reviewing their retirement plans and expectations. I know several couples who anticipate delaying the move to a retirement community either because they fear they they can’t sell their home for what they thought, or because their investment portfolio has nose dived.

Project Lifesafer helps locates Bellingham man with Dementia

Josselyn Winslow, Executive Director of the Alzheimer Society of Washington, recently told a group of elder care providers about Bellingham’s first success with Project Lifesaver. Project Lifesaver is an effort to make it easier for authorities to locate a vulnerable adult or disabled individual who has wondered or become lost. The project is most helpful for seniors with Alzheimer’s or other type of dementia. It is estimated that 59% of people with Alzheimer’s will at one point wander and get lost – many repeatedly.

The risks are significant when an elderly person becomes lost. If an elderly Alzheimer’s patient is outdoors for more than 24 hours, chance of survival drops by 50%. In the Bellingham case, a person with Alzheimer’s wondered away from a family home unnoticed. When the family became aware of the situation, they searched the area on their own for 2 hours. Their next move was to call 911, after which police and sheriff searched for 2 more hours. Only then did a family member report that the lost person was part of project Lifesaver. 15 minutes later the Alzheimer’s patient was in a volunteer’s car headed home. Disaster averted.

Does Medicare Cover It?

I found this link, Medicare Information for Caregivers, at the wonderful NY Times blog The New Old Age. The blog is really a must read for family caregivers or anyone supporting a senior either at home or in a long term care facility such as assisted living or a skilled nursing home. The Medicare site offers the most straight forward answers anywhere to questions such as “Is it covered?” and “How to Compare Nursing Homes.”

Unfortunately, for many families, the decisions they face about how best to serve their elderly relatives comes down to financial calculations. It is just a reality in todays health care environment and how we have chosen as a society to care for our parents. The more financial flexibility you have the more options you have, and this site is a great resource to help make sure you are getting everything from Medicare that you are entitled to, and help you plan for the future.

Mark Robinson, Elder Care Advisor, Elder Services NW

Helping families and seniors find, “The Right Place at the Right Time.”

How to Locate the Right Senior Living Option

These days the phrase “Senior Living” can mean anything from a private home caring for a few elderly residents to huge retirement or assisted living complexes often accommodating several hundred seniors. With that kind of diversity and with the shear number of facilities out there – there are over 100 licensed elder care entities in Whatcom, Skagit, and Island Counties alone – where and how should families begin?

Talking to Parents About Unsafe Driving

I love my car. I love the freedom. I love rolling down the window and listening to the Seattle Mariner baseball, or just knowing I could drive to the store a newspaper or cup of coffee anytime I feel like it. It’s kind of part of being a man. But what happens when my reflexes slow down, when my vision and hearing worsen, and when I get confused at those new roundabouts that all the kids drive way too fast through? Who’ll have the nerve to tell me I’m not safe anymore and ask for my car keys? One of the toughest issues a grown child can face is telling a parent that they are no longer safe to drive.

“How do I get dad to stop driving?”

This is a question I am asked a lot by families who are torn between honoring their parent’s wishes and stepping into the unfamiliar role of parenting their parent. There is fear on both sides. Driving can be the final hold an older person feels they have on independent living. Especially for older men, driving is seen as part and parcel of adulthood. Imagine your feelings of loss and isolation if you were asked to give up such a central piece of your identity. Now imagine it is your own kid doing the asking.

From the adult child’s perspective there is fear of humiliating their parent or being confronted with anger and denial when bringing up unsafe driving. A resident I know at an assisted living community still refers to his three daughters as, “The One in Seattle, the One in Bellingham, and the One Who Took My Car Away.”

I have found that extreme reactions such as these to be the exception though, especially when the discussion is handled with tact, humor, and respect. Keeping them part of the discussion and decision making is an absolute must. Our parents are often tougher and more resilient than we give them credit for. As a generation, they certainly understand shared responsibility and sacrificing for the greater good. Hurting another person is the last thing any of our parents would want.

Understanding the Assisted Living or Nursing Home Admission Agreement

Follow this link to a very good article cautioning consumers to read and understand the admission agreement for a nursing home placement before signing it. The concerns listed also apply to any Assisted Living or Adult Family Home agreements that you may be asked to sign.

Who Should Sign the Assisted Living or Adult Family Home Contract?

Every admission agreement I have dealt with as an administrator or as a consumer with has asked a family member to sign as the “Responsible Party”. This is either in addition to or in place the parent’s signature. If your parent is able to sign for him or herself, then this step is completely unnecessary and a bit disrespectful.

A Happy Future for Seniors!

Americans Getting Happier with Age

After working through some difficult issues with families this week it was a pleasant surprise to run across an article in The Washington Post reporting on research results suggesting that older Americans are generally happier than their younger peers. At first this struck me as odd, given all the press about depression in the elderly. Then I remembered how uplifting it always is when I get the chance to sit and really listen to the seniors I am fortunate to work with. Even burdened with health care issues and multiple losses of loved ones, the vast majority of elders, whether living at home or in an assisted living community, have a positive outlook on life and a certain serenity or calmness about them. As an assisted living administrator I would typically I would venture out of my office to all stressed with the details of running an organization and return with a new inspiration arising from the gratefulness I found among my residents. Not to mention the way they encouraged and looked after the emotional well being of their neighbors.

I am not downplaying the seriousness of depression and loneliness among the elderly. It is there, and needs to be addressed. It is just nice to remember that there is much we can learn from our seniors about how to approach the challenges of our every day lives.

Q & A on Assisted Living and Long Term Care Costs with Louise Ryan

Assisted Living Costs Again

Washington State’s Long Term Care Ombudsman, Louise Ryan, answered questions recently in the Seattle Times regarding Long Term Care insurance, Assisted Living Costs and Medicaid as a follow up to a recent story about a 99 year old Assisted Living resident being evicted from her retirement community. Here is a link to the discussion: Seattle Times Article. As I discussed in an earlier post, the elderly woman had lived at the Assisted Living facility for a number of years before spending her resources and applying for the Medicaid program and finding out that her facility no longer had a place for her.

Start Planning for Elder Care Today

Once again, a good reminder to start planning today for the costs of long term care. Whether it be an Assisted Living Facility, Adult Family Home, Nursing Home, or Home Care the costs can be staggering and you will not be able to count on the government. A great starting place for information on Long Term Care Insurance is the booklet, “Dignity for Life”, available on-line from LTC Connects. Check it out.

If you have questions or concerns about senior living options in Whatcom or Skagit county feel free contact me, Mark Robinson, or visit my web site.

Will Medicaid Cover Your Assisted Living or Adult Family Home Care?

Will Your Assisted Living Accept Medicaid?

By Mark Robinson, Elder Care Advisor at Elder Services NW

Elder Care and Medicaid

A recent Seattle Times article about a 99 year old woman being evicted from her Assisted Living community for enrolling in the Medicaid program really struck a chord with me. Unfortunately, her situation is not unique. The only thing I found unusual about the story was the fact that the resident was fighting back and had delayed the eviction. Medicaid (the state program for low income seniors) pays for assisted living care, adult family home care, in-home care, and nursing home placement. The issue is access. Since the state reimburses providers much less than they can earn from private pay clients, many are reluctant to accept Medicaid residents at all.

Assisted Living, Adult Family Home, Home Care Benefit for Veterans

An Little Known Veteran’s Benefit

By Mark Robinson, Elder Care Advisor at Elder Services NW

Have you have heard about the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit? If you answered “No”, you are not alone. In fact, according to a study prepared by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2004, up to 2 million eligible veterans and surviving spouses may be missing out on the benefit, which pays for a portion of Assisted Living, Nursing Home, or In-Home care. It is estimated that only one in four eligible veterans, and one in seven surviving spouses are collecting the benefit. When one considers the high cost of care these days, this is indeed a shame. One reason the Aid and Attendance benefit may be underused is the belief that the disability must stem from a service related injury. This is not the case.